Date Coding

Date coding is an essential part of most production processes. In food and beverage industries best before dates are integral to consumer safety and complying with regulations. In industrial manufacturing, expiry-date printers help provide full traceability and are crucial in the event of a recall or quality compliance issue.

What is date coding? 

The answer is simple, it is the marking of each product after production with a date coded on. 

Is date coding a legal requirement?

For England and Wales, pre-packed foods must mark and display information about the freshness of the product with either a use-by date or minimum durability date, that being either best before or best before the end. Other markings such as lot marking and date of freezing are printed on the packaging also.

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Best Before & Expiry Date Printers

Linx industrial date coding machines have pre-programmed and customizable date and time formats to match every customer need.

Using real time clock functions our date coders can automatically calculate and print best before, manufacture or expiry dates. It can add a fine level of detail to your expiry date coding.

If you need expiry dates that are easily readable for your consumers or “closed dating” for meeting regulations on product traceability Linx can meet your specific printing or marking needs.

Expiry date printer

How date coders make life so easy

The food industry isn’t the only industry that uses date coders. Date coding is used in the pharma industry, cosmetic industry, and electronic and beverage industry. Each industry has a different working environment, which these coders need to be robust enough to withstand those conditions. The coder must also be versatile enough to print on a range of different substrates, from glossy boxes to plastic film. 

To handle this sort of variety, Linx has a wide range of date coders and inks to make the process easier for businesses in all industries.

Printer Types for Date Code Marking

Programmed formats, automatic date forward functions, and the custom date and time editors for a full range of date coding capabilities

Linx's best-before-date printer uses simple on-screen prompts; templates can be easily created and stored in the internal printer memory. The date coder can also be set to variable intervals for forward or back sequential numbering, with models that auto-adjust for daylight savings time.

Continuous Ink Jet

Our most customisable option with inks that can be applied to nearly any substrate; even food-safe inks for print that comes in direct contact with ingestible products!

Linx CIJ coders are renowned for their flexibility, clean operation, and reliability, ideal for long hours of operation.

• Automatic date function in the printer
• Prompted date options
• Built-in mistake proofing for date coding

Continuous Inkjet Printers

Large Character Printer

Linx LCM printers offer an easy-to-use, cost-effective solution for high-resolution printing. They provide an environmentally friendly alternative to pre-printed boxes or labels.

High-adhesion ink for porous surfaces such as cardboard ensures that your print remains legible even after extensive handling.

• Replace expensive labels and pre-printed packaging
• Robust nozzle protection for optimum printing performance
• Increased printing height capability - 75mm

Large Character Printer

Laser Coders

One of the most reliable, versatile, and cost-efficient marking methods available. Indelible marks for even the most highly regulated industries.

With accuracy guaranteed, laser coders are a great option for high speed or permanent date marking.

• Laser tube lifespan estimated at 45k hours
• Permanent marking with fast application
• No consumables, no solvents

Laser Coders